Chapter 752: A Potato That Couldn't Even Sprout
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 752: A Potato That Couldn't Even Sprout
Rem closed the distance and snapped a punch into Roman’s jaw. His hand, still gripping his axe, moved so fast it left an afterimage as it struck and withdrew. The jaw was a vital point.
A clean hit like that should have rattled his brain and sent him sprawling, but Roman endured it. He completely ignored the force of the impact.
He didn't just stand his ground, either. Twisting his torso, he swung the elbow of the arm gripping his greatsword in a brutal arc.
Thud.
Rem had no reason to be flustered; he simply reacted.
He raised his arm to block the strike with ease, then swept Roman’s leg with a sharp kick. Roman tilted sideways and crashed to the ground.
"He’s stubborn. Are you sure we shouldn't just cut off one of his legs?" Rem asked again.
"If you're prepared to reattach it for him, go ahead," Encrid's response was firm. At the same time, he thought to himself:
But why is Roman here?
And alone, at that?
Was there trouble in the City of Oara? No, that couldn't be it. He had been receiving regular updates from the region. In fact, if the City of Oara had found it difficult to handle the remnants of the Gray Forest, Encrid had intended to step in himself.
He had tasked Krais with monitoring that area so closely that Krais had eventually complained.
"I only have one body, you know."
In short, the City of Oara was not what it used to be. Though it wasn't quite like the cities protected by the Safe Road, it had surpassed the level of an ordinary pioneer city. Since it was also the legacy of Knight Oara, Krang personally looked after the place.
Then why?
He had a vague idea, but with the answer right in front of him, there was no need to guess.
"This guy won't even pass out," Rem’s dry voice drifted over.
Encrid didn't know exactly what kind of monster a Parasitic Beast was, but he could deduce the situation based on what he saw.
That brown lump attached to his head.
That was likely the main body. Judging by his unfocused, dilated pupils, Roman was unconscious and under its complete control.
"If we peel that off, will he return to normal?" Encrid muttered, almost to himself.
Ropode responded to the murmur. "Fifty-fifty, I'd say."
If Encrid had heard of Roman's death through some other means, would he have just accepted it? Or would he have felt a sense of bitterness? One thing was certain: Encrid would not be shaken by something like this.
If he can be saved, I will save him.
He would do the absolute best he could.
This was the answer he had forged from the visions the Ferryman had forced him to experience over the past few days.
The Ferryman had thrust cruel illusions upon him, urging Encrid to remain in the present—the now—rather than dwelling on a future destined for the worst possible end. He was a conductor orchestrating a symphony of anxiety. He composed a melody that rushed from an overture of loss, through a bridge of resentment, and toward a climax of despair.
"Will you only regret it after everyone around you is dead? Will you beg to go back to the past then?"
All the way here, the Ferryman had shown unprecedented persistence. And Encrid...
"It's called Vortex. What do you think?"
...had focused on his swordsmanship like never before. He was so dedicated that he trained even in his dreams. Thus, he did not waver in the slightest. On the contrary, the horrors the Ferryman showed him only made him stronger.
If anyone had observed and understood this dynamic, they might have asked: "Is the Ferryman testing you?"
Naturally, Encrid felt it too, but that was the extent of it. There was no point in arguing just because he knew, and nothing more he could do about it. He had simply reached a conclusion while continuing his training.
Do the absolute best I can.
It was just a feeling, but Encrid felt as though he had learned this conclusion from the Ferryman. Or perhaps the Ferryman had pushed him to become this way. Of course, he didn't voice this aloud.
His musings were brief. Encrid spoke immediately.
"Sachsen, Audin."
The ultimate meaning of Encrid-style Orthodox Swordsmanship, reborn from Luagarne's tactical sword, was to walk the best possible path in any given situation. This time was no different.
Remove the parasite.
Sachsen possessed the surgical precision needed to shave skin as thin as paper. And Audin was the only one in the order who could wield Divine Power.
"Rem, hold him down."
The barbarian's axe-work, which had been striking vital points to incapacitate just moments ago, shifted. The movements curved smoothly, shedding their violent threat. Like a snapping whip, the axe caught Roman's greatsword and dragged it to the ground.
Thud.
Having forced the greatsword into the dirt, Rem stepped on it, pinning it down.
After that, it was simple. Sachsen, who had closed the distance in the blink of an eye, sliced the Parasitic Beast off.
"May the Lord watch over you."
Audin placed his bare hand on Roman's head. The blood spurting from the dozen or so holes left by the parasite stopped instantly, pushed back by a warm white light. That was it. Roman's body collapsed like a doll with its strings cut. Audin caught him by the neck with one hand.
Though meant as support, it looked like a grip that would snap Roman's neck the moment he tried anything foolish.
"We went through the trouble of keeping him alive, and now you're going to kill him?" Rem remarked.
Audin replied with a smile. "It's a secret technique that supports and subdues at the same time."
"Secret technique, my foot," Rem retorted.
Ragna stood nearby, yawning so wide his jaw nearly split. There was absolutely no sense of danger.
"What should we do about those?" Pel asked, gesturing to one side.
Monsters identical to the one that had possessed Roman were squirming out of the Gray Forest. In fact, what had appeared to be the forest itself was actually their massive bodies. The brown masses slithered down to the ground, creeping closer. They looked like mud puddles that had gained a mind of their own.
"Why even ask?" Ropode chided Pel.
They were here to kill monsters. Wasn't that the whole reason they were moving in the first place?
"Fiancé, my stomach is turning." Sinar hid behind Encrid, pretending to be weak.
Rem opened his mouth to curse but held it back. Encrid noticed his restraint.
"You've grown, Rem," Encrid said in admiration.
Rem glared at him. "Tsk, just shut your mouth. Seriously, you never stop talking."
It wasn't Rem's place to say, but Encrid was the leader of this group. He decided to soothe Rem's feelings. Since Rem told him to shut up, he remained silent and conveyed his thoughts solely with his eyes.
Look who's talking.
Rem ignored him.
In any case, facing what could be called a monster horde, Ropode and Pel stood side by side to meet them. A single moment of carelessness could turn them into hosts for the Parasitic Beasts. They were dangerous monsters, but...
"Do you think those burn?"
"You going to set them on fire?"
"Yeah."
...to these men, they were no threat at all.
"Be careful with fire," Sinar chimed in.
It was hard to shake off a traumatic event so easily. To her, fire was still a dangerous tool. Of course, she was no ordinary elf, so she was in the process of overcoming her past.
"Use it carefully," she added.
Pel and Ropode sliced through the mud-like Parasitic Beasts as they scattered and lunged, then set fire to the forest that served as the brown mass's main base. Though called a forest, it wasn't very large. Once a portion of it was burned, the rest simply crumbled away.
Midway through, the Colony Leader that ruled this Demon Realm appeared, taking the form of a giant earthworm. Against it, Pel swung his sword along a trajectory similar to Encrid's Vortex.
Deciding the battle with a single, full-powered strike was Pel's specialty. Of course, it fell short of what Encrid had demonstrated.
The worm survived even with its head split open. In the end, burning it was the only answer.
"I'll do it," Luagarne stepped forward and finished it off with a Flame Whip.
They had cleared an entire Demon Realm, yet the actual fighting had lasted less than half a day. This was partly because the Demon Realm wasn't very large, but also because their combat power was completely off the charts.
After tidying up, Audin slung Roman over his shoulder. The group continued toward their next destination—searching for the next Demon Realm. Heading south, there were several places known as minor Demon Realms. Burning and destroying them all would serve as a beacon to the Balrog.
Once they found a suitable spot to camp and settled down, Roman woke up. He blinked for a moment, then spoke.
"Are you dead too?" He was addressing Encrid.
A brief explanation of the current situation followed.
"Ah." Roman hesitated for a moment before recounting his foolishness.
It was a common straying of the path—a desperate struggle to find the way to becoming a knight.
"My skills stopped improving. Time passed while I remained stagnant. I couldn't wait any longer."
It was an extreme choice. Having slain almost all the monsters and demonic beasts remaining in the Gray Forest, Roman had hit a wall. How could he overcome this? He needed a change. To move forward, he had set out on his own. In doing so, he discovered that people lived even in lands belonging to no nation.
He had reached this place half by luck. If he had encountered even the Cyclops that Encrid had slain, it would have been a close call.
Had he fought for them, then?
"No, it was out of my own greed. It was the vain hope that fighting in a Demon Realm would show me the path forward."
It was a decision made because he felt his experience in the Gray Forest had driven his growth to some extent. If you walk in the wrong direction without watching your step, you might plunge off a cliff. After all, the path to becoming a knight was not a well-paved road.
Fortunately, Roman, who had fallen off the cliff, had been pulled back up by others. It was a foolish act, but there was no one here who couldn't understand him. Encrid, in particular, knew that feeling all too well, so he couldn't bring himself to scold him.
In moments like this, very few would speak carelessly.
"That was stupid," Rem said.
"Agreed," Ragna chimed in.
Sachsen showed no interest at all. He was busy gathering a few pebbles on one side and stuffing them into his pocket.
"Do you believe in the Lord? If you believed in the Lord, He would have shown you the way," Audin added.
Roman's foolishness was thoroughly criticized—not by Encrid, but by the entire order under him.
"Sounds like a lack of training to me," Pel said, showing his training-maniac side.
"Being bold is fine, but was there really any reason to go into a Demon Realm alone?" Ropode pointed out the reality.
Roman looked around at them. "Who the hell are these bastards?"
"They're my order of knights," Encrid replied.
At Encrid's answer, Roman realized who they were. Since there were familiar faces among them, they weren't unrecognizable.
The Order of Madness.
Roman knew he had been foolish, and he knew they had saved him. He wanted to keep his mouth shut, but their chatter wouldn't stop.
"Fiancé, if I were to be left alone in a Demon Realm, you would come to save me too, right?"
"Why on earth would you go into a Demon Realm alone in the first place?"
"Why, to recapture the joy of the past, of course. When the demon captured me, I saw visions of you coming to save me every single day."
"Didn't you tell me to go back the moment you saw me then?"
"You must learn to interpret a woman's words in reverse. And I jest. Do I look like a potato that can't even sprout?"
"A potato that can't even sprout" was an elven expression. Translated into the language of the Continent, it meant an idiot, a fool, or a dumbass. Roman didn't understand, but the helpful Ropode kindly added an explanation.
"I didn't really want to know that."
"Oh, is that so?"
Then Rem and the others kept talking. Listening to them debate about him made something—something hot—boil up from deep within his chest.
"First of all, getting caught by that Parasitic Beast happened because his resolve was too soft."
"Weak in both body and mind."
"It's because he lacks deep, inner training despite his massive build."
"A fool is just a fool."
The gray-headed Rem, the blonde swordsman, the giant urging him to believe in God, and even the man silently playing with pebbles—everyone had something to say.
Then, the half-giant approached him and asked. Her name was Teresa, if he recalled correctly.
"Did you have a plan?"
It was a question born of pure curiosity, but...
"You bastards, seriously..."
Anger flared within him. He knew he had been foolish, but couldn't they at least consider how he felt? How frustrated must he have been to set out on a journey of self-cultivation and end up like this?
Besides, there were people living nearby, even if they were only half-human! Did they not hear that part?
Yet, his position was too awkward to raise his voice. In the end, he could only let out a deep sigh and mutter:
"How could a bunch of geniuses blessed with talent ever understand how I feel?"
As he raised his head, his eyes fell on Encrid.
A man who had thrown talent to the Human-Faced Dogs and reached his current height solely through sheer will and effort. He was a knight now. Roman already knew this from the rumors.
Though Roman didn't know it, Encrid wasn't just any ordinary knight.
Whatever the case, watching Roman struggle, Encrid thought that this kind of desperation might also be one of the requirements to become a knight.
Even for an Imperial Knight, it's not as if they can teach and elevate just anyone.
In reality, their temperaments and various conditions had to align for one to guide another. But Encrid was different. He could guide Roman's path as well. He could see the way. It wouldn't happen overnight, but setting up signposts and opening the path...
...is possible.
This was what made Encrid unique. The path he had walked was vastly different from anyone else's. He had carved stairs from the bedrock where no path existed, scaling cliffs with nothing but his bare hands.
Seeing a strange gleam in Encrid's eyes, Roman spoke up to break the awkwardness.
"People live in the Demon Realms too. You didn't know that, did you?"